Language: Romanian is the official language, but English will be understood in
Bucharest and other tourist areas.
Currency: The Leu (RON) is the official currency, which is divided into 100 bani. Money may be exchanged at banks, international airports, hotels or authorized exchange offices called 'casa de schimb' or 'birou de schimb valutar'. ATMs are available at large banks, airports and shopping centers in cities.
American Express,
MasterCard and Visa are accepted in the main cities. Travelers cheques, preferably in Euros, can be cashed in large banks, some hotels and
certain exchange offices in Bucharest but commission is high. It is recommended to travel with some Euros in cash in case of difficulty using credit cards or travelers cheques. US Dollars are also accepted fairly widely.
Time: Local time is GMT +2 (GMT +3 between the last Sunday in March to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October).
Electricity: Electrical current is 220 volts, 50Hz. Two-pin European-style plugs are standard.
Communications: The direct dialing country code for
Romania is +40, and the outgoing code is 00, followed by the relevant country code (e.g. 0044 for the
UK). There are numerous area codes applying to cities, towns and villages, for example (0)21 for Bucharest. The country is well covered with GSM 900/1800 mobile phone networks. Email and Internet are widely available in the cities and larger towns.
Duty Free: Travelers to Romania do not have to pay duty on either 200 cigarettes, 40 cigars or 200g of tobacco. 2 liters of liquor, 4 liters of beer or wine and gifts to the value of US$1000 are also duty free. Valuable goods, such as jewelry, art, electrical items and foreign currency should be declared on entry.
Tourist OfficeRomanian
Tourist Office, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 314 9957or www.romaniatourism.com
EmergencyEmergencies: 112.
Embassies
Embassy of Romania,
Washington DC,
United States: +1 202 332 4848.
Embassy of Romania,
London, United Kingdom: +44 (0)20 7937 9666.
Embassy of Romania,
Ottawa,
Canada: +1 613 789 3709.
Embassy of Romania,
Canberra,
Australia: +61 (0)2 6290 2442.
Embassy of Romania,
Pretoria,
South Africa: +27 (0)12 460 6940.
Embassy of Romania,
Dublin,
Ireland: +353 (0)1 668 1085.
Consulate of Romania,
Wellington,
New Zealand: +64 (0)4 476 6883.
United States Embassy, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 200 3300.
British Embassy, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 201 7200.
Canadian Embassy, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 307 5000.
Australian Embassy in
Belgrade,
Serbia (also responsible for Romania): +381 (11) 330 3400.
South
African Embassy, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 313 3725.
Irish Embassy, Bucharest: +40 (0)21 310 2131.
